Jiang Xiaosi was awakened by the continuous ringing of the doorbell. The morning sunlight filtered through the green leaves outside, casting streaks of light on the large peachwood table. She sat up, stretched, intertwined her fingers, and rotated her hands 360 degrees, her joints cracking audibly.
Slowly making her way downstairs, she saw Shen Mo opening the door. A young, gentle-looking man poked his head in with an apologetic expression.
“Sorry for disturbing you so early, Professor Shen. We can head straight to the crime scene now.”
“Hey! Xiao Tang!” Jiang Xiaosi jumped onto the banister and slid down, landing right in front of him.
Xiao Tang was startled, his mouth half open as he looked at Jiang Xiaosi, then at Shen Mo. “You two…?” He quickly changed the subject when he noticed Shen Mo’s icy gaze. “You’re Xiaosi, right? You stayed here last night?”
Jiang Xiaosi nodded, then narrowed her eyes, leaning in close to examine Xiao Tang’s face. “Your complexion is looking pretty rosy. You might be in for some romantic luck soon!”
Xiao Tang quickly waved his hands, laughing. “No way, I’ve never had much luck with women.”
“What about men?”
Xiao Tang froze, his lips twitching.
“Haha, I’m just joking, but I’m pretty good at reading faces.” Jiang Xiaosi said, patting his shoulder.
Xiao Tang checked his watch. “What grade are you in? It’s almost eight. Don’t you have school?”
“Third year of middle school. It’s fine, I’m skipping today to check out the crime scene with you guys.”
“You’re about to take your high school entrance exams. You can’t just skip school.”
“This is about my life! You can’t expect me to sit around and wait to die, can you? I’m just curious to see the scene. Maybe I can even help. Right, Professor Shen?” Jiang Xiaosi batted her eyes, finding the title “Professor” rather cute.
Shen Mo glanced at her but didn’t object. He went to grab his coat, preparing to leave.
Jiang Xiaosi was the first out the door, hopping into the car with Xiao Tang.
“This is so cool! It’s my first time riding in a police car. Can we drive with the sirens on the whole way?”
Xiao Tang laughed nervously. “I don’t have my own car, so I borrowed one from the station. Thanks for your help yesterday—it really made a difference.”
“No problem! We’re friends now! Feel free to drop by my family’s shop anytime. I’ll give you a 20% discount!”
“Sure! What kind of shop do you have?”
“An adult toy shop.”
Xiao Tang…
“Has Professor Shen helped you solve many cases?” Jiang Xiaosi asked, shifting the conversation.
“Yeah, a lot of strange cases over the past two years. The recent dismemberment case on Huajie, the Li Mu serial murders, and the disappearance of Wang Neng’s daughter—Professor Shen has assisted with all of them.”
“Are they all paranormal cases?”
“Most of them. Some regular cases that the police couldn’t solve also had him help out. By the way, what’s your relationship with Professor Shen? You’re not one of his students, right?” Xiao Tang had met Shen Mo’s two assistants and some of his students.
“Nope. My family owns an adult toy shop, if you catch my drift…”
Jiang Xiaosi winked at him.
Xiao Tang’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth hanging open as if he could fit a whole fist inside. No way, Professor Shen…
Just as they were speaking, Shen Mo got into the back seat with his coat and a small wooden box.
Xiao Tang kept sneaking glances at Shen Mo through the rearview mirror, his face alternating between red and pale, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief.
The drive was slow. Ye Miao’s rented apartment was also in Wanhe District, not far from where Yang Yan lived, but it still took them nearly an hour to get there.
Shen Mo remained silent the entire time, resting with his eyes closed as if he were asleep. Meanwhile, Xiao Tang and Jiang Xiaosi chatted casually, getting along quite well.
Having someone to talk to on the road, especially a lively young girl, made Xiao Tang happy. Otherwise, being alone with Shen Mo always made him break out in a cold sweat.
When they finally arrived, Jiang Xiaosi noticed that Shen Mo was still sitting quietly, so she kindly patted his shoulder. “We’re here!”
Shen Mo opened his eyes, frowning with a somewhat pale expression.
Jiang Xiaosi gave him a sidelong glance. “Are you carsick?”
“Shut up!” Shen Mo snapped, grabbing his box and stepping out of the car. He took a deep breath of fresh air before heading into the building.
From the outside, the apartment building looked old and rundown, and the hallway had an eerie feel to it. Ye Miao had lived on the second floor in a one-bedroom apartment, presumably rented for her by Yang Yan.
Jiang Xiaosi followed at the rear, noticing a couple of small ghosts she recognized from her family’s shop lurking in the corners. They waved at her, and she pointed at Shen Mo in front of her, mimicking a slicing motion across her neck. The little ghosts immediately fled in fear.
Shen Mo smirked and glanced back at her. She quickly averted her gaze, pretending to hum a song as she looked around.
Xiao Tang unlocked the door, and the scene inside remained untouched. Shen Mo followed the trail of blood into the kitchen.
“Was Ye Miao’s cause of death excessive blood loss from the miscarriage?”
“No, it was mainly carbon monoxide poisoning. The neighbor next door smelled gas and knocked on the door. When there was no response, they got someone to break in and found Ye Miao lying on the floor next to the desk, already dead.”
“So the killer deliberately murdered her. They must have turned on the gas before leaving. Ye Miao might have been unconscious from the surgery, but when she woke up and realized something was wrong, she went to the kitchen to turn off the gas. However, she found the valve had been damaged, the windows locked. She tried to crawl to the door, but it was locked from the outside. When she tried to call for help, she found the phone line had been cut.”
“That seems to be the case,” Xiao Tang nodded, watching as Shen Mo retraced Ye Miao’s final steps, from the kitchen to the door and then to the phone, almost as if he were reenacting the events of that day.
“When all her escape routes were cut off, the only way she could think of to call for help was…”
“Going online!” Jiang Xiaosi jumped over to the desk, pulling out a cut network cable from the corner.
“But the network cable was also cut.”
“She probably felt completely hopeless at that point. In her last moments, she was likely holding onto this cable.”
“So her spirit entered the network? That makes sense.” Xiao Tang nodded, taking notes diligently in his notebook.
“Did you find any clues on her computer’s hard drive?”
“No.”
Jiang Xiaosi glanced around the small apartment. Although it was old, Ye Miao had decorated it warmly, with pictures of herself, friends, and Yang Yan on the walls.
In the photos, she looked young and full of life, while Yang Yan was a plain-looking middle-aged man with dull eyes and a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
“Why did he kill Ye Miao? Just because she was pregnant with his child?” Jiang Xiaosi felt a surge of anger.
Xiao Tang propped his chin on his hand. “Yang Yan was married. He wasn’t wealthy or influential, but having an affair with an underage high school girl would be a huge scandal. He could lose his job, his family, and even end up in jail.”
“But that was his child! How could he be so heartless? No wonder Ye Miao hates him so much. Even in death, she’s determined to get her revenge.”
Shen Mo had no interest in these emotional entanglements. “The most important thing now is to find Yang Yan. It’s not just about solving the case. He’s in hiding, but he may not know that Ye Miao has turned into a vengeful spirit searching for him. As soon as he connects to the internet, it could mean another death.”
Xiao Tang nodded. “We’ll work on finding him as soon as possible.”
As they left the apartment, Jiang Xiaosi suddenly noticed a dirty little dog sitting by the door. Its once-white fur had turned black with grime. When the door opened, it darted between Shen Mo’s legs and into the apartment.
“A dog?” Jiang Xiaosi quickly followed it inside and found it circling an empty food bowl in the kitchen.
“Was this Ye Miao’s dog?” Jiang Xiaosi approached and scooped up the little dog, which affectionately licked her face.
“Poor thing, its owner is gone. Professor Shen, can I keep it?”
Shen Mo didn’t respond and just tilted his head toward Xiao Tang.
“Xiao Tang, can I keep it?” she asked.
Xiao Tang, who also liked dogs, replied, “Sure, that should be fine.”
With that, Jiang Xiaosi happily carried the little dog downstairs, feeling like she had hit the jackpot today.
“Why haven’t you gone home yet?” Shen Mo glared at her as she climbed back into the car.
Xiao Tang chuckled. “Where do you live, Xiaosi? I can drive you home.”
Jiang Xiaosi, holding the dog without a hint of disgust, tore open a package of ham sausages she had just bought from a small shop and began feeding the dog.
“I’m going to Professor Shen’s house. I left my tomato juice there.”
Both Shen Mo and Xiao Tang were left speechless.
Back at Shen Mo’s place, Jiang Xiaosi and the little dog took a bath together. Wrapped in Shen Koudan’s leftover pajamas, she sat cross-legged on the sofa, blow-drying the dog’s fur. Aside from a black patch around its left eye, the dog’s fur was completely white, and its eyes were large and beautiful.
Shen Mo stared at this girl and her dog, who were making themselves at home, his face darkening with every passing second.
“Doggy, I don’t know your name. How about I give you a new one? Hmm… let’s call you Pudding, okay?”
The dog shook itself, spraying water all over her face.
“I’ll take you to the vet in a few days. It must have been tough living on the streets this month. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you from now on.”
Half an hour later, Shen Mo’s voice roared through the house, “What?! You’re keeping the dog here?”
“Yep! My dad won’t let me have pets…” Jiang Xiaosi pouted sadly, giving Shen Mo a pitiful look.
She used to love keeping pets because she was so lonely and didn’t have many friends. But no pet could stay with her forever. Her life was too long, while those little animals and even her friends were just brief moments in her endless existence. Every time she watched a beloved pet or friend die, she cried her heart out. Jiang Liu, seeing how heartbroken she was each time, eventually forbade her from keeping pets.
“If you haven’t learned to let go, don’t pick them up in the first place.”
That’s what Jiang Liu had told her. But she was just a child—how could she think that far ahead? Even though she knew it would hurt, she couldn’t help but get close to them.
“Please! Pudding is very well-behaved and smart. He won’t run around or bark too much. Look, he even knows to go to the yard to pee and fertilize your garden! You just need to give him a little leftover food at each meal. You wouldn’t want him to wander the streets, would you? I’ll come by every day to check on him!”
“What?! Every day?!” Shen Mo was on the verge of losing it!
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